Thursday, October 20, 2011

Focus on: Accentuate

Accentuate is a gorgeous poly thread that is comprised of 70% polyamide and 30% metallic polyester. It is sold in 50 meter spools, in 148 different colors. This very fine metallic filament is very strong and flexible. You can use it alone or blended with other threads to give your color a little bit of a pop of glitter. You would use this filament in a 2:1 equivalent. If you're using Accentuate alone, you should select simpler stitches. It would be a waste of time to execute a complicated stitch with sparkly metallic threads like Accentuate because the pattern would not be apparent.

Use the Ashley stitch, shown in the photo above, to create a lovely background, a special clothing pattern, or wallpaper. In the example above, Stephen used 12 strands of Accentuate by itself to create the effect of this stitch. It's nice to see how beautiful this thread comes out when you're just using it by itself.

Another stitch that uses this lovely thread is the Framed Reverse Scotch Stitch, which you can see above. This stitch would look lovely in a design with a tablecloth, a pattern on curtains, and rugs. Once again, the thread is not blended with another color, but is placed next to another contrasting color. This little pop of shimmer really makes the yellow pop and gives this stitch added character.

The Raised Maltese Cross, seen above, is another fantastic example of a stitch that this thread really shines in. The combination of the loveliness of this stitch as well as the beautiful colors that Accentuate comes in, would make this an excellent stitch to use with Accentuate to create a patch of flowers or shrubbery.

Try this lovely thread out for yourself. By all means let us know how it works for you, and what you use it for! We love to see everyone's projects!

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About Me

Rittenhouse Needlepoint Main Site
Rittenhouse Needlepoint was founded by Russell Palmer and Stephen Janick.
Stephen started needlepointing 4 years ago. They had done lots of traveling and had seen needlepoint shops around the country so they knew what they wanted in a needlepoint store -- something fun and friendly, spacious and open, professional and devoted exclusively to needlepoint. In the fall of 2008 they decided to go for it and Rittenhouse Needlepoint is the result. Hope you can stop by and see the place. In the meanwhile, enjoy the blog!